Midnight Mayhem
by Tunny's Girlfriend
Summary: Follow James Potter and the rest of the Marauders as they begin their journey through seven years at Hogwarts. eventual JamesLily. rated mostly for violence and mild language
1. Prologue

Prologue

Sometimes, I find myself wishing I was dead, like my friends. James was murdered by one who we all considered a friend. Sirius was killed trying to rescue his godson, James's son, and his godson's friends. And Peter will be a dead man if I ever get the chance to put my hands around his neck. He is dead to me.

Once a month, I change into a horrible beast. Then, after the dreaded night is over, I spend a day, all alone, sitting in my bedroom, remembering the days of my youth. I recall the friendship, the courage, the love, the hate, the bitterness, the betrayal, the tears, the laughter, the joy, the pain…. I remember every single moment of it as though it had just happened. Some of the memories bring tears to my eyes; some make me laugh so hard I have tears in my eyes. They were some of the best days of my life. I will never forget those days. I wish I could live some of them over and over again. But some I wish I could erase from my memory completely.

But since you asked, I will tell you the story of myself and my good friends. I warn you, the story doesn't have a happy ending, as most do. It is a tale that ends in pain and death. But you asked.


	2. The Train Ride

The Train Ride

Remus Lupin stood quietly on the platform of Station 9 ¾. He didn't know a single soul. His grandparents had left him there to find his own way, so he just grabbed his suitcase and walked onto the crimson train.

As he walked the narrow hallway, he looked desperately for an open compartment, and, to his delight, found one. He put his trunk away and pulled out the newest book that he was reading.

James Potter arrived to Station 9 ¾ just in time. The train would be leaving in a few moments. He told his parents good-bye quickly and then ran onto the smoking train.

He walked the corridors in search of an open compartment. To his dismay, he found none. He was about to find a compartment that had maybe a person he knew in it, when he ran into a black haired boy.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the boy yelled.

"You were the one who wasn't watching!" James yelled back.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" the boy yelled at James.

"Do you want to fight me?" James asked dangerously.

"I wouldn't waste my time on you if I was being forced to," the boy quipped.

James lunged at the boy, punching him in the left eye as hard as he could. The boy shoved James off of him and then returned the punch. James punched him a few more times, and, in turn,received a few more shots to the face and chest.

They were going to kill each other.

Remus sat in his compartment quietly, waiting nervously to see if anybody would ask to sit in his compartment. He was shocked when a pretty girl with reddish hair knocked on the door of his compartment.

"Come in," he said.

"Hi, is this compartment empty?" she asked.

"Except for me, it is," Remus replied.

"Would you mind if I sat here with you?"

"Not at all. I'm Remus Lupin."

"I'm Lily Evans. Nice to meet you Remus," she said, sticking out a hand.

Remus shook it and smiled.

"So," he began, "where are you from?"

"London. I didn't even know I was a witch until I got that letter. It was really strange. My parents had no idea. I guess I always knew I was kind of weird, because I could sometimes make things happen."

"Really?" Remus asked, intrigued by her story.

"Yeah. Like this one time, my mum got me this horrible dress to wear on picture day at school…"

"Picture day?"

"Oh, it's when they take a picture of you to put in this book. Every one in the whole school has it done. So, my mum got me this absolutely horrid dress to wear. As you can imagine, I put up quite a fuss. But my mum had her way, and I was to wear it. And then, the day came, and I ruined it, except I don't quite know how I did it. All I know is that, I walked down the stairs, and the side caught on the banister. The whole dress ripped apart! But I looked and there was nothing there! My mum was furious but I got to wear the outfit I wanted! And there have just been other things that just happened. I guess I-"

Lily was interrupted by a loud crash as two boys fell against their compartment door. They both had jet black hair, and the one boy had round glasses.

Lily screamed when the boy with the glasses punched the other boy in the eye.

"What do they think they're doing!" she yelled.

"Just leave them alone. You don't want to get involved!" Remus ordered.

But Lily didn't listen. She slid the door open and somehow managed to pry the boy with the glasses off of the other boy.

"Stop it! Both of you!" she yelled.

They stood up. The one boy had a black eye and a bloody lip. The other boy's glasses were broken and he looked like he hada broken nose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" the boy with the black eye demanded.

"I'm trying to save your skin! Do you have any idea what they do to people like you?"

"What do you mean, people like us?" the glasses kid demanded.

"I mean people who get into fights. You could very well get expelled from Hogwarts before ever setting foot on the grounds!"

"Oh, please! Just let me kill the stupid git and get it over with!" theboy with a black eye yelled.

But Lily wouldn't move. And the boy with the broken glasses seemed reluctant for her to get involved.

"Come on, Lily," Remus said. "Just let them have at it."

"Yeah!" the boy with ablack eyeyelled. "Come on, four eyes! You want some of this?"

"You know what?" the glasses kid asked the other kid.

"What?"

"You're not worth it."

The broken glasses kid grabbed his trunk.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" he asked.

"Of course not," Lily said.

"As long as you promise not to kill me," Remus joked.

"I promise."

They all took a seat in the compartment.

"I'm James Potter," broken glasses said.

"Hi. I'm Lily Evans."

"And I'm Remus Lupin."

"Nice to meet you two."

"So, what was that all about?" Lily asked James.

"Well, the stupid bloke walked right into me. Then he got all cocky and started to insult me. So, I punched him in the face." James replied.

"Well, it's not a good idea to go starting fights on the first day of the term. You could've been expelled!" Lily scolded.

"Right. Well, alls well that ends well, right?"

They were interrupted by another knock on the door of the compartment.

Two girls with chocolate colored hair and another girl with extremely curly, bright red hair were standing there.

The redhead spoke first.

"Do you mind if we sit in here? All the other compartments are taken."

"Sure. Have a seat." James invited politely.

"My name is Alice Bones. These are my friends Ellie and Rory Abercrombie. They're identical twins." she said.

"I can see that," James said. "I'm James Potter. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

They giggled.

"I'm Lily Evans."

"I'm Remus Lupin."

"It's nice to meet you all," one of the twins said.

"Yeah. I was so scared to come here, even though I had Ellie and Alice. I was afraid of not meeting people." Rory said.

"Well, it's good to meet you three." Remus said.

They spent the rest of the train ride exchanging stories, talking, and getting to know each other.


	3. The Sorting

The Sorting

A group of extremely nervous eleven year-olds stood at the front of the Great Hall. They were waiting to be sorted.

Professor McGonagall, a hawk-like woman with a pointy nose, informed them that they would be sorted in alphabetical order. They would then sit on the stool and wear the Sorting Hat. He would tell them in which house they would be placed: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff.

They listened anxiously as the Sorting Hat sang it's song about the four houses and the founders. Then, it was time for the sorting to begin.

The very first person to be sorted was Ellie Abercrombie. She gave a sigh of relief when the Hat announced that she was to be in Gryffindor.

Her sister, Rory, was also in Gryffindor.

The next boy to be called was Black, Sirius. James recognized him as the boy that he had fought with on the train. He groaned as Sirius was placed into Gryffindor. He was sure that boy would be in Slytherin.

Alice squealed quite loudly when she was placed in Hufflepuff.

Lily waited patiently until her name was called. After what seemed like an eternity of debating whether she should be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, the Hat had decided. "GRYFFINDOR!"it cried.

She sat down next to Rory at her new table, waiting anxiously to see where the rest of her friends would be placed.

A few more students were sorted into Hufflepuff, Slytherin,and Ravenclaw.

Remus walked nervously up to the three-legged stool and held his breath as the Hat was placed onto his head. He was begging the Hat to place him into Gryffindor. The Hat was arguing that he should be in Ravenclaw with that brain of his, but he begged.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled, much to Remus's relief.

The next boy to be sorted was had a face like a rat. He was covered in pimples and his hair looked morelike it belonged on the back of a camel than on his head. His name was Peter Pettigrew and, much to everyone's surprise,he was placed into Gryffindor.

A kind-looking boy named Frank Longbottom was put into Hufflepuff.

A beautiful girl named Emilie Wood was sorted into Gryffindor.

Then it was time for the Feast.

The conversation was happy, all of the first years glad to have the dreaded sorting over with. James and Sirius exchanged a few glances, unsure what to make of each other, now that they would probably be roommates.

Finally, it was time for them to see their new rooms.

Rory, Ellie, and Lily walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room. They were greeted by a quite fat woman in a toga. She was the painting that guarded the door to the Common Room.

The girls followed the Head Girl up to their new dorm. It was a large room, painted crimson. There were four beds. All of them had crimson and gold sheets.

They all wondered who their roommate would be.

They saw that their trunks were already waiting for them.

Meanwhile, on the opposite staircase, there was going to be some tension in the first year boys' dormitory.

James and Remus entered their large dorm. It was exactly the same as the girls'. There were four beds. One was occupied by the afore-mentioned Peter Pettigrew. The other was occupied by Sirius Black.

"So, we meet again!" cried Sirius haughtily.

"Look, if we're going to have to sleep in the same room we may as well try to get along a little bit better," James tried to pacify.

Sirius wasn't biting.

"So, you think you can just walk into me and then try to start all over? I don't think so, Mister Potter. If you honestly believe that Sirius Black will just let some muggle-loving pureblood walk all over him, you're dead wrong."

James clenched his fist at Sirius's ignorant statement.

"So, tell me, Sirius, why weren't you sorted into Slytherin?" James asked angrily.

"That's quite simple. It's because I am not like every other Black that walks the face of the earth. I am different."

"How profound. Now tell me why, if you're so different, did you just call me a 'muggle-loving pureblood'? That sounded like quite the typical Black to me. I have met your mum, after all."

"You leave that damned witch out of this!" Sirius ordered, drawing his wand.

"What are you going to do with that, curse me? In front of my dear friend Remus?"

Remus shifted uneasily at being called this boy's friend. After all, he had only known him for a few hours.

"Your friend, eh? Well, I happen to have my good friend Peter Pettigrew, who, as it turns out, has quite the talent for jinxes."

Peter, like Remus, felt unsure at this label of being Sirius's "friend."

"Now, James, I suggest that you back off immediately. I do not wish to engage in a wizard's duel with you. But if you tempt me, I will indulge you."

"I'm not getting into any type of fight with you. I wouldn't waste my energy."

"Good."

Sirius and James each turned to their so-called "friends", Remus and Peter.

Both Remus and Peter were thinking of ways to make this year a little more peaceful in their dorm.

Luckily, the girls had a much easier time.

Lily, Rory, and Ellie all sat on Rory's bunk, chatting nicely, when a girl with hair the color of dark caramel and eyes that made Sirius's electrifyingly blue eyes seem a dull gray walked jovially into the room.

"Hello all, I'm Emilie Wood," she said cheerfully.

"I assume you're our roommate?" Ellie asked.

"That's right!" she said.

"Great. I'm Rory Abercrombie. This is my twin sister Ellie." Ellie waved. "And this is our newest friend, Lily Evans."

They all exchanged pleasantries.

"So, aren't you guys all so excited to be here?" Emilie asked quirkily. "Because I know that I am. I mean, I've been waiting all these years to come to Hogwarts, and now, here I am, sitting in Gryffindor Tower, with my newest friends! This is so incredible! I just can't believe that I'm finally here! It's just like I imagined it would be! So large and the grounds are absolutely beautiful! And the ceiling of the Great Hall is just amazing! It's like I'm in Heaven!"

Emilie rambled on about how great the place was for about five more minutes.

Finally, Lily had a great idea.

"Hey, have you guys ever heard of the game called Truth or Dare?"

"Nope," was the unanimous reply.

"Oh, well it's this muggle game when you ask a person if they want to tell a truth or perform a dare. I thought it would be cool to play truth or truth. We could ask each other questions and then answer them. It would help us to get to know each other a lot better. What do you think?"

"Well, it sounds like a good idea if you ask me," Ellie said.

"Yeah. You're a genius, Lily!" Rory exclaimed.

"I know!" Emilie said. "Can I go first?"

They all nodded in consent.

"Great. Okay, Lily. Who do you think is the hottest kid in our year?"

"Um, ask me in a few weeks, once I've actually seen them all," Lily responded.

"Oh," Emilie said, deflated.

"Okay, it's my turn," Lily said. "Rory, do you like being a twin?"

"Absolutely!" she said enthusiastically. "I mean, you have someone who shares your clothes and your looks! She's always there for me, and she's my best friend. Plus she has great shoes."

Everyone gave an appreciative laugh.

The game went on into the late hours of the night, all of the girls eager to spill their deepest, darkest secrets.

As the boys went to bed, Remus and Peter were thinking of ways that they could make Sirius and James like each other. James and Sirius, on the other hand, were thinking of ways to make the other's life miserable.

The girls, however, were all nervous about what the next day would hold for them. It was, after all, the first day of classes.


	4. A Slight Problem

A Slight Problem

Remus awoke early the next morning, way before any one else was up. He had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore and Headmaster Blake.

He made his way down to the corridor nervously. He knew it was going to be about his "condition", he just didn't know how they planned on dealing with it.

He neared the statue that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office then uttered the password. The statue leaped aside, revealing a small, narrow stairwell. He walked up the stairs as one condemned to death.

"Ah, Remus! How good of you to come!" Professor Dumbledore said jovially.

Leave it to him to be this happy at this hour of the morning.

"Please, sit down Remus," the Headmaster ordered. Remus obeyed. "As you know, we have a very important matter to discuss with you. Your grandmother was very concerned when she spoke to us a year ago. She was worried that you would not be allowed to Hogwarts because you are a werewolf. I told her that I wanted you to be able to attend this year very deeply, but I needed to consult with other teacher and try to figure out a way for this to be possible. I'm sure you figured out that we have found a way, as you are here right now."

Remus nodded, wondering what they planned to do to him. Lock him up? Surely they knew that chains wouldn't hold him. Give him a potion? No potion existed that could cure being a werewolf. He would just have to see.

"Well, Remus, we have constructed a way for you to remain here as a student. You must, however, listen to us very carefully. You must obey what I say to the very letter. If I find that you have broken the rules, you may very well face expulsion. Do you understand?"

"Yes, headmaster."

"Very well. We have constructed a building in which you will stay while you are a werewolf and the day after. We have dubbed it the Shrieking Shack. We will spread the rumor that it is haunted, thereby preventing anyone from desiring to enter. Should someone, however, get curious, the doors are impossible to open. We have sealed them both physically and magically. This not only prevents them from entering, but it keeps you locked inside while you are transformed. You will notice that there is a large willow tree located on the grounds of Hogwarts. It is called the Whomping Willow. The tree is bewitched to swing its' vines at anyone who approaches. You will notice, however, that if you take a stick and press the large knot on the bark of the tree, the branches will not harm you. At the bottom of the tree, there is a small opening. If you enter the opening and follow the passage, you will find yourself at the Shrieking Shack. Do you have all of this?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, on to the rules. One, you must enter the Shrieking Shack directly after your classes end on the eve of your transformation. You must also remain there the day after. Two, you must take nothing with you, especially your wand. Three, you must tell no one of this. It is much better if we keep your condition a well-kept secret. Four, you must not let anyone see you enter the tunnel. It could be disastrous if someone were to follow you down the tunnel. They would not meet Remus Lupin, but a horrible, twisted version of him. And fifth, you _must_ be careful. Do you understand these rules and the consequences of them should you choose not to abide by them?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good boy, Remus. I have the utmost confidence in you. Be careful, boy. Now, go on to breakfast. Your friends will surely wondering where you have gone this morning."

"Yes, sir. And thank you, for everything. Just one more question. What about the teachers and my friends?"

"Well, all of the teachers know of your condition. They have been told to give you your assignments in advance and to give you some slack should you be a little late in handing them in. As for your friends, we will have to think of a multitude of excuses, now won't we?"

"Yes sir. Thank you again."

"Don't even think of it, Remus. Now off with you!"

Remus scurried out of the Headmaster's office. It had gone much better than he had planned. They actually had a logical solution to his problem. He just hoped his roommates would believe that he got sick for a day and a night once a month.

He was a few minutes late for breakfast, but he instantly wished he hadn't bothered going at all.

James and Sirius were at it again.

"Remus! Thank God you're here!" James greeted him. "Would you please tell dear Sirius here that I am not a stuck up git; I simply inherited it from my father."

"I am not going to tell Sirius anything. You can work it out on your own," Remus replied, aggravated at being nothing more than someone to pacify to James.

"Would both of you stop it!" Lily yelled. "You're acting ridiculous! Honestly! I'd think you were only six years old by the way you are fighting! Just apologize and be friends!"

They both gave her looks of incredulous disbelief, as though she were a bit crazy.

"Lily," Rory interjected, "do you honestly think they'll listen to you?"

"Well, it was worth a try," Lily defended her actions.

"Well, it was a waste of your time," Sirius stated bluntly.

James, however, had a brilliant idea pop into his head at that precise moment.

"Would you all excuse me, I left a notebook on my bunk."

They all nodded in relative agreement.

He exited the Great Hall rather calmly and then, as soon as he was out of their sight, he sprinted up to his dorm.

He fetched a tiny glass container out of a hidden pocket in his trunk. He sprinkled the sparkly powder over Sirius's bunk and in all of the clothes of his he could find at that moment.

He then grabbed an empty notebook and went to his first class, Transfiguration, with Slytherin.

He barely made it to class on time, sliding in next to Remus.

"Good morning, class," Professor McGonagall greeted them.

"Good morning, Professor," they intoned.

"Welcome to Transfiguration. Can anyone tell me whatTransfiguration entails?"

Lily's hand shot up into the air.

"Yes, Miss Evans."

"It is the art of changing one object or creature into another completely different one," Lily said. She had been up late almost every night of the summer studying for this moment.

"Excellent, Miss Evans. Ten points to Gryffindor.Today, class, we will not be working with our wands. We will be learning. Take out some parchment and your quill and prepare to take notes. We will begin on page seven of your book."

Professor McGonagall went on to explain the history of Transfiguration while almost all of the class prepared to pass notes to their new friends or draw or something. I did say _almost_. Lily's quill was scratching furiously, trying to keep up with every word the Professor said.

James made a mental note that, if he ever needed notes, he could just ask Lily.

The next class on the first years' agenda was Charms, also with Slytherin.

They found that they had already been paired. Some with classmates from their house, some with other houses.

Lily found, to her shock, that she was not with Ellie or Rory or Emilie or James or Sirius or Remus or Peter. She was, in fact, paired with a certain boy from Slytherin whose name was Severus Snape.

They were greeted by Professor Flitwick. He gave them their pairings and assigned desks. He informed them that they would be working on a simple levitating charm. They saw a white quill in front of them. He told them to use the charm to levitate it.

Lily decided that, if she was going to be paired with a stranger, she may as well be friendly.

"Hello," she greeted Severus. "I'm Lily."

"I know," he said icily. "Do you know how to do this?"

"Of course," she replied. She chanted the levitating charm and her quill rose spectacularly into the air.

"Amazing!" Professor Flitwick cried. "I do believe that is the first time any student of mine has successfully managed to levitate their feather on the first try! Which house are you from girl?"

"Gryffindor, Professor," Lily responded, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Excellent! Thirty points to Gryffindor! Now all of you get working!"

Lily was quite pleased with herself. So pleased, in fact, that she didn't find it odd when Severus asked her for some quite involved help on his feather.

He had her leaning over him in quite uncomfortable ways.

Lily was just telling him how to properly say the charm when she felt a hard squeeze on her butt.

"Hey!" she yelled at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Squeeze me!"

"Because you're pretty!"

Lily tried to shake it off as nothing.

James watched angrily from across the room at Lily and that greasy kid from Slytherin. Just who did he think he was, pinching her like that? And in front of everyone! What a slime ball! He made a mental note that this kid was on his 'to kill' list.

When Charms was finally done, Severus stopped Lily.

"Do you think you could help me with this later on?" he asked in what Lily thought to be a serious voice.

"Of course!" she said. "When did you want to meet?"

"How about seven o'clock in the library."

"Sounds great. See you then, Severus."

Lily turned to go to lunch and found herself face-to-face with none other than James.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"To tell you to stay away from that creep," he replied.

"Excuse me? Who are you to talk to me? He's my partner and he asked me for help. It's my duty to help him."

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you. He kept peering down your shirt. And I saw him squeeze your butt. That was very rude."

"And how would you know all of this? Were you watching me during Charms?"

"Well I…" he sputtered, kicking himself for blushing so deeply.

"Exactly. So the day you stop being an arrogant, self-centered git is the day I'll stay away from Severus."

"So that's the slime ball's name, huh?"

"Just shut up James. Maybe if you decided to get along better with Sirius I would stay away from Severus."

"That, my dear, will happen on the day that Sirius's head deflates about ten sizes."

"You are impossible, James Potter."

"So I've heard."

Lily walked away from him angrily.

James watched her go, thinking how pretty she was. He had heard Snape say something about seven at the library. He was going to make sure he was at the library at seven that night.


	5. A Dangerous Confrontation

A Dangerous Confrontation

James sat by himself in the Library, waiting anxiously for Lily or Snape to arrive. He must've sat for an hour before they finally came.

He didn't see her, he heard her voice. They were at a table behind him. He pulled the hood of his cloak up a little higher and tried to listen to what they were saying. It was hard, but he managed to figure out that she was honestly trying to help him with Charms.

_How naïve_, he thought as he moved to another table. He couldn't see Lily or Snape, and he wanted to make sure that the grease ball kept his hands and eyes off of her.

He got up and moved to a table off to the side, far enough away so that they couldn't see him, but close enough that he could see them.

Lily was desperately trying to help him understand the importance of the wrist gestures, and he was "trying" to learn them. Really, he was just trying to get a glimpse of her shirt that was open perhaps a little too low.

After about an hour, Snape finally got it. She seemed so proud of herself. Snape was complimenting her about how good of a tutor she was.

They got up to leave. James followed them out of the library.

"Thank you so much for tonight, Lily. It really meant a lot to me that you helped me," Snape said.

"Oh, it was no problem, Severus. I'm just glad you finally understand it!" Lily said happily. James noted how her cheeks flushed when she was happy or excited.

"Well, I want to thank you," Snape said.

"How?" Lily asked.

James had a bad feeling he knew.

Snape suddenly pushed Lily against the wall of the castle and kissed her violently.

James decided it was him moment to shine.

He made it look as though he was just walking down the hall. It was, after all, on the way to the Gryffindor tower.

Lily was struggling against Snape, but he wasn't letting up.

"Let go of her!" James ordered.

Snape pulled away from Lily suddenly.

"Excuse me?" he asked angrily.

"She obviously doesn't want you touching her, so why don't you just leave her alone?"

"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? And how do you know she doesn't want me to touch her?"

"Why else would she be struggling?"

"Severus, leave. Now," Lily ordered, speaking for the first time.

"I'll see you tomorrow in Charms, Lily," Snape said sweetly before walking down the corridor. He gave James the finger right before he turned the corner.

"I doubt it," she said to herself. She stared at the floor for a few moments.

"Are you okay?" James asked concernedly.

"Why were you following me?" Lily accused suddenly.

"What?" James asked a bit nervously. He didn't want her to know he had been watching her.

"You followed me to the library and watched me the whole time I was with Severus. Then you followed us out here. So why were you following me?"

"I heard you say you were going to the library tonight and that Snape kid is a perv. I didn't want you to get hurt," James said in all sincerity.

"Who gave you permission to follow me, James Potter? And since when are you so concerned about me?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt!" James insisted.

"I was doing just fine on my own! Next time I'll thank you to stay out of my business!" she yelled.

"But… but…" James sputtered.

"And stay away from me. I swear if I even feel you around me I'll send the worst hex I can think of in your direction!" she screamed, storming off down the corridor.

James stood there for a few minutes, completely baffled. His thoughts ran wildly in every direction.

"_I was just trying to help her! Why did she get so upset? And why does she hate me so much? It's not like I ever did anything to her before! I swear! Try to help a person and look what happens! Well, the next time Severus Snape is on top of her, I won't even bat an eye! Nope! Even if she calls me and begs for help and forgiveness, I won't even look at her! She'll regret hurting me!"_

Lily lay on her bed that night, very confused about what had happened. She didn't understand James's actions. And Severus! She had thought he was such a nice boy! Well, she would speak to Professor Flitwick the next day and get everything straightened out. He would understand.

"Lily, honey, what's the matter?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just a rough night," Lily said, reluctant to talk to a stranger about her problems.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ellie pushed, eager to know what happened.

"Really, it was nothing," Lily replied.

"So that's why you came in here all upset and crying, right? Look, Lily, when a person tells me something, my lips are glued shut. You can tell me anything."

"Okay. Tonight I was at the library helping my partner in Charms, Severus, out with some stuff. James Potter followed me there and was watching us the whole time. Then, after Severus finally got it, he tried to kiss me. When I tried to get him off of me, he wouldn't stop. Then James came out of nowhere and made him leave, claiming to be trying to help me. But he followed me!"

Lily was crying now.

"Look, Lily, it sounds to me like James has a crush on you, that's all. He heard you say where you were going or something and knew this Severus kid was bad news. He was trying to look out for you. Is that such a bad thing? I mean, he is _really_ hot. How bad could it be?"

Lily smiled.

"You know something, I think you're right. It's not that bad. I'll just have Flitwick change my partner and apologize to James."

"Good girl, Lily. See, that wasn't so hard! Now get some rest! We have classes tomorrow."

Lily lay her head on the warm pillow.

James walked dejectedly back toward the tower after an eternity of standing and pondering. He decided that he hated Lily Evans.

He entered the dorm. He was greeted by a distressed Peter, an angry Remus, and a furious but miserable Sirius.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME POTTER!" Sirius screamed.

"What are you talking about, Black?" James replied calmly. His powder had done the trick. It was a type of itching powder, except it caused the victim to break out into unsightly red boils at the same time. James was quite proud of his work.

"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHAT ARE THESE BOILS ALL OVER ME?" Sirius continued to scream.

"Now how would I know that, Sirius? Maybe you should go to Madame Pomfrey. She'll have just the thing that'll cure you right up. Goodbye, then."

Peter dragged Sirius out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

The instant the door shut, James burst into hysterical laughter.

"That was bloody brilliant!" he said between breaths, obviously proud of himself.

"Well I don't think so," Remus said disapprovingly.

"What do you mean?" James asked suddenly. "He was covered in them!" James grinned at the thought.

"That was mean and you know it, James Potter. I'll admit, Sirius isn't the nicest person to ever walk the earth, but he didn't deserve that!" Remus argued.

"He bloody well did deserve it! He's an arrogant, stuck-up git!" James replied angrily.

"He isn't the only git in this room," Remus said.

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" James asked angrily.

"I am not on anybody's _side_. I just don't think you should've done that. Why can't you two just make up and be friends?"

"Because we can't. That's why. Now either you be on my side or piss off," James said cockily.

"You're utterly impossible," Remus sighed, going to bed.

"So I've heard!" James yelled.

He lay in bed for an hour or two, waiting anxiously for Sirius and Peter to come back.

After what seemed like an eternity, Peter entered the room alone.

"Where's Sirius?" James demanded of the poor boy.

"He has to spend the night in the Hospital Wing. Now I'm going to bed," Peter replied quite schizophrenically.

James's grin broadened at the thought of Sirius spending the night in the Hospital Wing. He was quite pleased with himself.

As he drifted off into a peaceful sleep, his dreams were filled with images of Sirius covered in bright red spots.


	6. Friends at Last?

Friends at Last?

The day started out like any other day for all the students except for Sirius Black. He lay in his hospital bed, fuming.

"_How dare he humiliate me like that? Just who does he think he is? I'll get him back. Oh, I'll get him back! He'll wish he hadn't crossed me when I'm through with him! He'd better watch his back. Oh, yes, I can see the plan forming right now!"_

Sirius lay in his bed happily, forming his evil plan.

James sat in the Common Room, toiling over some Defense Against the Dark Arts homework when he was approached by none other than Sirius.

"What do you want?" James asked, annoyed at being interrupted.

"I just wanted to apologize," Sirius said.

"What?" James asked, shocked.

"I said I wanted to apologize. While I was in Madame Pomfrey's care, I had a lot of time to think things over. I realized that you are the better man. I want to start all over and be friends."

James stared at Sirius for a good five minutes before he could respond.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm as s_irius_ as I'll ever be!"

Sirius started to laugh. It took James a second to fully process what he said, but he laughed too when he got the joke.

"If you're s_irius_ about this, then I'm game," James said happily. Sirius had finally come to his senses and seen who was who in the world.

"Good. I'm Sirius Black," he said, sticking out his hand.

"James Potter."

And so their "friendship" was formed.

Sirius kept the act up for several days. He felt bad for Peter and Remus, who were happy they had finally worked out their differences. But he had to get that git back.

Finally, it was Saturday, the day Sirius had been waiting for. He quickly conjured up a glass of water and then added the clear liquid to its' contents.

"Hullo, James. What's going on?" Sirius asked jovially, entering their room.

"Just playing a bit of wizards' chess with Peter. Care to watch?" James replied.

"Of course. I'm not thirsty any more, would you like this water?" Sirius asked sincerely.

"Thanks, mate," James said, taking a long swig at the ice cold water.

But he stopped mid-swig. He began so sputter and cough.

"What'd you do to this water, Sirius? It tastes gross!" James yelled.

"Whatever do you mean, Jamesie?" Sirius asked, an evil grin on his face.

"You! You didn't! Yo-"

James's voice stopped. His lips were moving, but no sound was coming out. To make matters worse, the word _GIT_ appeared across his forehead in large letters made of purple boils.

"Do you like it, James? Concocted it myself. Especially for you, for that matter. Don't bother trying to speak. Your voice will be gone for a whole day. And those boils, could be a few days. I'd go see Madame Pomfrey if I were you!" Sirius said, howling with laughter.

This is how it was when Remus entered the room: Peter was sitting on the floor, terrified as usual. James seemed to have lost his voice and the word git was on his head. Sirius was doubled over in laughter. He could only imagine what had happened in this room.

"What's going on in here!" Remus demanded.

James was motioning frantically toward the glass and then Sirius and then his throat, so he knew he wouldn't get an answer out of him. Sirius's words were incoherent.

"Peter! Tell me what happened!" Remus ordered.

"Me and James were playing wizard's chess when Sirius comes in and offers James his water. Then git was on his head and he lost his voice. Then Sirius says it's all his doing. And then you came in." Peter said quickly.

"Thank you. James, go to Madame Pomfrey. Sirius, you are an insufferable git."

Remus walked out of the room, not sure what to do about his friends. James and Sirius just couldn't seem to get along!

24 hours later, James lay in exactly the same bed where Sirius had lain just a few days ago. Luckily for him, Madame Pomfrey had found a way to get him his voice back _and _get rid of the letters on his forehead. He was free to go.

He walked down the corridor, desperately trying to think of a way to get Sirius back, when he heard yelling.

He ran to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. He saw Remus, Peter, and Sirius backed against a wall. He saw a kid who was probably in his fourth year with long blond hair, a girl about the same age with curly brown hair, and a girl with jet black hair who looked to be a year or two older than the others. Their wands were out and they all seemed to be addressing Sirius, but angry that Remus and Peter were there. He struggled to listen.

"How dare you speak to me like that, little Sirius!" the black-haired girl demanded.

"Shut up Bella. Who cares what house I'm in!" Sirius yelled.

"I do and so does your mother and your brother, who was too spineless to show his face here. You are giving us Blacks a bad name by just existing in Gryffindor!" Bella yelled.

"And you couldn't stand to address me alone, could you? You just had to bring good ole' Lucius and Narcissa along, didn't you? Just in case your scrawny first-year cousin got the best of you."

"You filthy blood-traitor!" Lucius yelled. "I ought to kill you right now. But I won't. You're not worth it."

"I will!" Bella screamed, pulling out her wand.

Suddenly, a voice from behind yelled, "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Bella's wand was knocked out of her hand, and all three of them were thrown on the floor.

Sirius looked up, searching for the person who had saved his life. He expected to see Lily or one of the other girls, but to his shock, James Potter stood with his wand raised.

Before he could react, Lucius shot a jinx at James. Sirius, his reflexes working amazingly well, blocked it.

Remus threw a couple of hexes at Lucius, Narcissa, and Bella. They gave up.

"You'll regret this!" Lucius screamed as the two girls dragged him down the hall.

All four boys stood for a moment, catching their breath.

Sirius was the first to speak.

"What was that all about?"

He was addressing James.

"What, saving your arse?" James asked.

"Yes. Why did you help me?"

"I dunno. I saw that she was going to kill you. I could just hear it in her voice. They were being right jerks, you know. Besides that, I couldn't let Remus or Peter get hurt, now could I?" James asked.

"True. But still, we hate each other!" Sirius protested.

"You know, maybe Peter and I should leave you two to work this out," Remus said, hoping his plan would work.

"Yeah!" Peter said jumpily.

Before James or Sirius could reply, they walked away.

"Look, James, I'm sorry about last night," Sirius said after a long silence.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about the boils. It was a nasty thing to do,"

"Yeah, it was. But so was mine."

"Yes, it was. You said you made that yourself, how?"

"It was simple. I combined a few types of potions and BANG! Instant torture device!" Sirius said.

James laughed.

"And how did you manage to cover me in boils?"

"It was a powder my dad gave to me before I left. He said if I ever got into any trouble, I could use it."

"That's one cool dad," Sirius said in awe.

"You know something, Sirius Black, I think we should really start over. Except this time, not so that we can prank each other," James said earnestly.

"Brilliant idea, Jamesie!" Sirius cried.

"Please, if you ever want to re-live the boils, call me Jamesie again," James said sincerely.

"Well, that's a start: honesty is the key to a good friendship! So, my name is Sirius Black. I'm eleven years old, enjoy long walks on the beach, and brunettes are my favorite."

"It's nice to meet you Sirius. I'm James Potter, prefer dinner and a walk, and like redheads."

"Good to meet you James old boy!"

"OH, but the pleasure is all mine!" James said.

Both the boys started to laugh.

"You know something, I think we could make a really good team, Sirius," James said after they had caught their breaths.

"Same here. If we both put our brilliant minds together, we could give this school a run for their money!" Sirius cried.

"I think Remus would go along with it," James said.

"Definitely," Sirius agreed. "And Peter will go along with anything I do. Honestly, I think that boy lives to worship me! It's really quite disgusting. He has no mind of his own."

"Well, that's good. It's always good to have one of them in the group," James said.

"Good point."

"So, we have me, the quiet rebel; Remus, the genius rebel; Peter, the rebel who's only a rebel 'cause the rest of us are rebels-"

"And me, the hottest, most sexy, and smartest rebel to ever grace this school with his presence," Sirius interrupted.

"Something like that," James muttered.

"So there's four of us! We should make a name for ourselves, like a nickname that everyone will call us by. That way we'll have a legacy to leave behind. Only I can't think of a good one right now," Sirius said.

"We'll ask Remus. He'll think of something good," James said.

"Right. Let's get back to the room before my dear cousins and their male prostitute decide to join us again," Sirius said.

James and Sirius walked back to the Gryffindor Tower arm-in-arm.

They were friends at last!


	7. The Marauders Are Born

The Marauders Are Born

The first year Gryffindors were in the middle of a lesson with Professor Dumbledore when they were interrupted by Headmaster Blake.

"Professor, I need to speak to Remus for a moment, if you don't mind," Headmaster Blake said.

"Of course," Professor Dumbledore said kindly. "Don't forget about that essay due on Monday, Remus!"

"I won't, Professor," Remus said.

"Please come with me, Remus. I have a matter to discuss with you," the Headmaster said.

Remus followed the Headmaster, his mind racing with all of the possible reasons he could be called to the Headmaster's office.

They reached a large statue of a gargoyle.

"Dragon blood!" Blake said.

The gargoyle standing in front of Remus leapt to life and revealed a staircase. Remus followed Blake up the stairs and into his office.

"Sit down," he commanded.

Remus sat.

"Now, as you know, tonight is the full moon- your first transformation here at Hogwarts," Blake said.

"Yes, sir," Remus said.

"Well, I just wanted to double-check precautions with you. Tell me exactly what you are to do tonight, just so we are all clear."

"Okay. I'm supposed to go to the Whomping Willow after dinner. I'll freeze the branches with a long stick or something and then lock myself into the Shrieking Shack. Then, the next morning, I'll just say I was sick or something."

"Good. However, I would like you to pretend that you are sick as soon as possible. Eat as much as you can at dinner, though, for you will not eat for another day or two. I will instruct Madame Pomfrey on the proper procedures you will need. I will also tell her to say that you are ill and not able to see any visitors until you are ready. Are you clear on exactly what you will do tonight?"

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Very good. Now go on to lunch."

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked Remus as he joined them for lunch.

"Oh, nothing. Just something about my grandmum. Nothing important," Remus said.

"Right. Well, James, Peter, and I have a little matter of our own to discuss with you tonight after dinner," Sirius said.

"Right," Remus replied, unsure of how to excuse himself. "Well, I'll be there."

"Good," James said.

"Right, well, we'd better get going. You know how McGonagall hates it when we're late. Besides, I'm not feeling too good," Remus said.

"Sorry to hear that mate, 'cause you won't wanna miss our little show tonight!" Sirius said.

Remus raised an eyebrow at his enthusiastic friend, unsure of how they were going to take it when he was absent.

The day seemed to speed by. It seemed like Transfiguration took only ten minutes instead of the full hour and a half. The double Potions felt like half of one class to Remus.

Before he knew it, it was time for dinner. The only problem was that the sun was already starting to set.

Remus decided he would get some food very quickly and then run to the Willow.

With no explanation, after he had stuffed his pockets full with food, Remus got up and ran as fast as he could towards the Whomping Willow. He grabbed a long stick and pressed the large knot in the bark. The swinging branches froze and Remus slid down the opening between the roots. He then sped down the tunnel and, at last, locked himself into the Shrieking Shack.

It was fairly large, but looked to be very old, even though Remus knew it to be brand new.

He walked into a large room. There was a huge four-poster bed with red sheets and a small cabinet. He put all of the food into the cabinet and then sat on the bed, waiting for the transformation.

After about twenty minutes, a beam of light from the moon came in through a crack in the high ceiling. Remus felt it beginning.

At first, his whole body ached. Then, the room started to look different, as though it was being seen from someone else's eyes. Then, he could feel the werewolf inside of him. He could see like one, smell like one, hear like one. And finally, it was as though the werewolf ripped through his skin.

He was no longer himself.

Back in the Great Hall, Remus's friends were quite worried about him.

"I wonder what made him just, run off like that!" James pondered.

"I dunno," Peter squeaked.

"I mean, here we are, in the middle of a civilized conversation, and he just comes dashing in here," Sirius said. "He sits down all nervously and shoves some food into his robes when he thinks we're not looking. And then, without even a single word of apology, he just dashes off into the sunset! What does he think he's playing at?"

"I dunno mate," James said. "Maybe he started to feel really sick or something."

"But then why shove the food down his robes?" Sirius questioned.

"Look, Sirius, you're just as confused about this as the rest of us. We'll just go back to our room and ask him. I'm sure he'll have a perfectly good explanation. We'll just have to trust him," James said soothingly.

"Alright," Sirius growled. "Let's go talk to Remus."

The three boys left the Great Hall and walked up to the Gryffindor tower, in search of Remus. However, when they reached their room, they saw that Remus was not there. He wasn't anywhere, it seemed.

"Where is he!" Sirius yelled. He was starting to become a little obsessed over Remus's location.

"Look, Sirius, you need to just calm down, okay?" James pleaded. "I'm sure Remus just isn't feeling good or something. Let's just leave it alone until tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine," Sirius spat. Hewent to bed reluctantly, waiting until the next day.

Remus awoke the next morning. He didn't know what time it was, but he did know one thing: that was one of the worst transformations he had ever experienced. There were numerous cuts all over his face, and a large gash on his left arm.

He was starving, so he ate some of the food he had hidden the night before. The bread was stale, but it was still very good.

Finally, when he felt he was himself again, he walked back up to the castle and into the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey was shocked at his appearance.

"Oh, dear, you look terrible! I'll get to work at once!" she said frantically. "You need some food. I'll send someone to get you some good food from the kitchens. And those cuts! Oh, dear, you poor child!"

Remus lay on the hospital bed and winced every so often as Madame Pomfrey healed his cuts.

After an hour of healing, a house elf came into the room with a platter of food for Remus. He devoured it while Madame Pomfrey watched disapprovingly, shaking her head whenever he took a particularly large bite.

"What?" he asked between bites of chicken. "I haven't eaten in twelve hours!"

She didn't answer.

"Where d'you reckon Remus is?" Sirius asked after an agonizing silence at breakfast.

"Sirius, I told you last night," James said irritably, "he's probably in the hospital wing. I'll tell you what. We'll go look after Transfiguration, okay?"

"_Okay_," Sirius said, "whatever."

When Transfiguration finally ended, Sirius dragged Peter and James into the Hospital Wing.

"What do you boys want?" Madame Pomfrey asked irritably.

"We wanted to know if our friend Remus Lupin is in here," James said.

"Yes, yes, he's over here. Keep your voices down, he's very weak," she ordered.

The boys followed her to a bed in a dark corner.

Remus was lying down, awake.

"Hey," he said wearily.

"Where were you last night?" Sirius demanded.

"Here," Remus lied.

"Why'd you run off like that?" James asked, his voice much nicer than Sirius's.

"Well, I'd been feeling bad all day, and then the sight of all that food was all I could take. I felt like I was going to throw up, so I ran for it. Professor McGonagall suggested that I come here, so I did."

"What was wrong with you?" Peter asked.

"The flu," Remus said quickly.

"How'd you get that scar on your arm?" Sirius asked suspiciously. He was positive he would've noticed it if it had been there before. It was huge and hard to miss.

"Oh, uh," Remus stuttered. "I tripped on my way up the stairs, and I uh, got this gash. Madame Pomfrey healed it for me and everything."

"Oh," Sirius said, positive that Remus was holding back the truth.

Remus sighed to himself. _That was close._

"Well," James said, "since we're all here, I have some business to discuss."

He glanced at Madame Pomfrey to make sure she wasn't listening. She was busy cleaning something, so James shut the curtains and cast a silencing charm around them.

"Why so secretive, James?" Remus asked.

"Well, I've had an idea."

Remus and Peter groaned. They had only known James for a few weeks but had already figured out that it was never a good thing when he said that.

"Oh, come on! You'll love it. Okay, you know that greasy Slytherin, Snape?"

"Yeah!" Sirius said. "That git knocked all of my books out of my hands the other day and glared at me."

"Well, he's been giving me trouble too. I figured we show him who he's dealing with. What do you say?"

"Well, I dunno," Remus began.

"What do you propose we do, James?" Sirius asked.

"Uh, I thought I'd leave that up to you three," James said.

"Right. So you want to prank this kid but you don't know what to do," Remus said.

"I know!" Sirius said.

"Keep your voice down!" James hissed.

"Right. Well, you remember what I did to you?"

"Yes," James said, his cheeks burning at the memory.

"Well, let's do the same thing to Snape. I still remember how to make that potion. It's clear, so we could slip it into his pumpkin juice."

"How will we manage that?" Peter asked. "He'll see us if we put it in his juice, and he won't take anything from any of us."

"Ah, my dear friend, you've forgotten the resources that I have in an older brother. My dear brother, Regulus, knows his way around this place quite well. He told me where the kitchens are. The house elves will be ever so happy to help. We just tell them to put it in his juice. He sits at the same seat every meal, so it won't be a problem. It'll take me a few days to make the potion, but we can still pull it off."

"But we'll be seen! We can't just sneak into the kitchens! Someone will see us!" Peter said.

"No we won't!" James said.

"We won't?" Sirius and Peter both asked at the same time.

"Of course not. I completely forgot about it," James said. He looked around again. "I have an invisibility cloak."

"NO WAY!" Sirius roared.

"SHHH!" James and Remus scolded.

"My dad gave it to me before I left. Said it would come in handy. Boy was he right."

"So," Sirius said, "I'll make the potion. I'll even teach you. And then we'll sneak to the kitchens at night with your Invisibility Cloak. We'll tell the house elves which cup to put it into. We can say it's a present or something. They'll soak it up. And then we wait."

James grinned. Peter smiled awkwardly. Remus still looked worried.

"I don't know, guys-"

"It'll be fine, Remus. You'll have a blast," James said. "All we need now is a name."

"A name?" Peter asked.

"Of course. If we're going to become known around here, we need a name!"

"You mean like to call ourselves, like in that muggle story _The Three Musketeers,_" Sirius said.

"Exactly."

The four of them thought for a few minutes. Then, Remus remembered something he had read as a child.

"How about _the Marauders_?"

Peter, James, and Sirius mulled over the name for a few minutes.

"I like it!" James said.

"Me too!" Sirius said.

"Me three!" Peter squeaked.

"Then it's settled. We're the Marauders!" James said.


	8. The First Prank

A/N: A special thank you and a million gold stars go to JustAnotherTeenageGirl for being my first reviewer! Just keep on reviewing! And by the way, all you people who are reading my story but not reviewing, please please please please please please please please (you get the picture) review! You don't know how frustrating it is to see that you have like thirty reads but only one review! Here's a deal: you review my story and if you have a story, I'll read it and review! PLEASE REVIEW!

Okay, so I've been updating this story for how long? A month? Well, I keep on forgetting a disclaimer!

Disclaimer: Everything except the plot and any characters you don't recognize from the books belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

The First Prank

_I remember that night very well. It's as though it had just happened. It was after my first transformation at Hogwarts that we formed the Marauders. The name was my idea. I can't really remember how I thought of it. I think it was in something I had read as a child. But the name fit us perfectly. Then James and Sirius had this idea for the "perfect prank," as they called it. We were going to get back Snape. We found out much later, probably not until our seventh year, that we only pranked him because he had given Lily some trouble earlier on in the week. James was furious. But it worked perfectly. I remember I was sitting in Transfiguration…._

Remus opened the note that Sirius had handed him. It said: POTION READY. WE ATTACK TONIGHT.

He looked up at Sirius. He was wearing the most evil grin that would later become known as his signature pranking face.

It had been just two days since he had gone through his first transformation, and already the potion was ready. It must not be complicated.

That afternoon, after their last class, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter made their way back up to their room.

"Well, boys, here it is!" Sirius said with a flourish. He pulled out a small vial from inside his pillow case. It contained a clear liquid.

"This is the potion?" Remus asked.

"Yes it is, freshly brewed by yours truly," Sirius said with his "pranking face" on.

"So, we'll do it at dinner, then?" Peter asked.

"Of course!" James said, smirking. "We'll sneak down to the kitchens. Sirius knows how to get in and all that stuff, so we'll simply tell the house elves it's a gift or something. They'll put it in his pumpkin juice, and we'll be off."

"It sounds great!" Peter said appeasingly.

"I'm still not too sure about this, guys," Remus said.

"Well, dear Remus, you have no choice but to come along with us on this prank. You already know too much," Sirius said. "Then you can decide if you no longer would like to be a part of the Marauders."

"Right," Remus said uneasily.

"Well, we'd better be off," James said. "Dinner starts in an hour. We need to get down there before it's too late. This is my dad's invisibility cloak."

James had walked over to his trunk and pulled out a long, silvery cloak.

"Well, come on!" James said, annoyed at the other boys' oohing and aahing.

He folded it up and slipped it inside his robes.

"I need to make a quick stop into the Great Hall," James said, slipping a piece of parchment into his pocket.

"Okay," Sirius said. "Let's do this!"

They walked down towards the Great Hall.

"I'll be right back," James said quickly. He ran into the Great Hall and returned a few minutes later.

"Let's use the cloak, just to be safe," he said upon his arrival.

So James, Sirius, Remus, and Sirius all slipped under James's large invisibility cloak. It was large enough for the four of them, but it was very crowded.

"Ouch!" Remus yelped. Someone with large feet had trampled all over his.

"Sorry," Sirius muttered.

"Shh!" James hissed. "We're here."

They looked up and saw a large painting of a fruit bowl.

"So what do we do?" Peter asked.

"From what I hear, we tickle the pear," James said.

"Tickle the pear?" Remus asked incredulously.

"Yep."

"It's worth a try," Sirius said, reaching his hand out.

He gently stroked the green pear in the corner. It squeaked and giggled, and then it turned into a door handle.

"Come on! Let's go!" James urged.

The four boys walked into the kitchens and were greeted by a storm of house elves eager to help them in any way possible.

James spotted a certain elf that seemed to be enamored with him, so that was who he picked.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" he asked the elf.

"Me? Sir wants to know my name?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Uh, yeah. What's your name?"

"My name is Dizzy, sir," she said.

"Good. Dizzy. I'm James Potter, and these three are Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin," James said.

"What can Dizzy do to help you?" she asked.

"We just need a favor," James said.

"Oh, anything you is needing, Dizzy will do!" she squeaked.

"Okay, good. You see this potion?"

"Yes, James Potter," she said reverently.

"Well, I need you to put it in our friend's cup. You see, it's his birthday, and it's a special present we have for him," James said, smirking.

"Oh, anything for you, sir! Just tell Dizzy which cup to put it in and Dizzy will do it!"

James pointed to Snape's cup.

"That one. Make sure all of it gets in, okay Dizzy?"

"Sure!" she said.

"Great. Thank you very much, Dizzy."

The four boys left the kitchens.

"Don't you feel bad for lying to a house elf?" Remus half-asked, half-accused.

"Nope. It wasn't a lie. It really is Snape's birthday. I heard him say so today after Potions," James said.

"Who knew…" Sirius muttered.

"C'mon, let's get going! We don't want to miss this!" James urged.

The four slipped back under the cloak and made their way back up to the Great Hall for dinner.

* * *

Snape made his way up to dinner with his friends. He was about to sit down at his normal spot, but saw that it was taken: by Lucius Malfoy. He didn't bother to ask why, he just sat down in an empty seat.

About halfway through his meal, he was aroused from his thoughts by an irritated voice asking, "Who in Merlin's name are the Marauders?"

It was Lucius.

Snape had no idea. He had never heard of such people in his entire life. So he continued eating.

* * *

None of the four could eat at dinner. They were anxiously watching Snape, waiting for their moment to come. When it did come, it was glorious.

He had been taking his time taking a drink of his pumpkin juice. Finally, after he had finished most of his meal, he raised his goblet to his lips and took a long dreg.

But nothing happened.

James looked at Sirius angrily.

"Why didn't it work? What did you do wrong?" he accused.

"I did everything exactly the same way as I did it to you!" Sirius defended himself.

"But it's not working! Snape's fine!"

"I'm telling you, James, I did-"

Sirius was interrupted by a loud scream from the Slytherin table.

All four boys, including James and Sirius who had momentarily forgotten their quarrel, turned to look at the scene.

To their shock and utter delight, they saw Lucius Malfoy, not Snape, covered in the purple boils that spelled the word _git_ across his forehead. His hair was turned electric green instead of its' normal white-blonde, and his voice had deserted him. Sirius's cousin, Narcissa, looked quite horrified at what had become to her dear Lucius.

The whole Hall burst into hysterical laughter at the sight before them. The teachers were all quite flustered, well, Dumbledore was wearing an amused smirk-type thing, but everyone else was trying to get to Lucius to help him. He was ushered away to the Hospital Wing.

"That'll last him a few days. I wonder why Snape didn't get it though," Sirius pondered.

"Because Snape is not sitting at his normal seat," Remus observed wisely. "He's moved down three seats. Normally he sits next to that oaf Darren Crabbe, not Lucius."

"You're right, Remus!" Peter said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, well, it was still great," Sirius said.

"But what about Snape?" James whined.

"Relax, James, we still got _someone_, right? That's what it was all about," Remus said.

The other three boys gazed at him for a few moments, unsure of what to make of Remus's sudden change in attitude.

Sirius was the first to speak.

"So, does this mean you're in?"

"In what?"

"The Marauders, Remus. Are you in the Marauders?"

"Oh, I guess so. It was kinda fun. I guess someone is going to have to make sure you get the right person."

Remus was grinning.

"Great!" Sirius and James yelled, each of them giving Remus a high-five.

"So now it's official," James said. "We can begin our reign of terror over Hogwarts!"

"Right. Well, dinner's over. I say we go to the kitchens and get some food so we can celebrate," Remus said grinning.

"Wow, Remus, you really have come out of that 'good-boy' shell, haven't you?" James asked.

"Well, you know it _was_ pretty fun, this whole pranking business. The house elves said they were eager to help, so let's take advantage of it!"

The four boys got up and started toward the hallway when Remus bumped into another girl. She had curly blonde hair and curious brown eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Remus muttered.

"Oh, that's okay. I know who you are! You're Remus Lupin!" the girl said. "I'm Lindsay Martin."

"How'd you know who I am?" Remus asked, just a _little_ creeped out.

"Oh, well, we have Transfiguration together, and I was there when you answered that question right and the professor gave your house ten points. That was brilliant!" she said enthusiastically.

Remus's face burned at the strangeness of this little girl added to his friend's hysterical laughter.

"Right, Lindsay, well it's been really nice to meet you but my friends and I must go. Bye!" Remus said, dragging his friends out of the Great Hall.

"Bye Reemie-kins!" Lindsay yelled as they exited.

"Remus! That was hilarious!" Sirius said, tears in his eyes from laughing.

"I thought it was quite scary!" Remus said, annoyed.

"But that girl obviously likes you!" James said.

"I don't care. That was really creepy! She knew my name and I guess she's in one of my classes, but that's just obsessed!"

"Awww, _Reemie-kins_ doesn't like her?" Sirius teased.

"Let's just get the food!" Remus hissed.

"Fine, fine, fine. Whatever you say, _Reemie-kins_," James said.

"Come on!"

Half an hour later, the four boys were sitting in their room, pigging out on different sorts of sweets.

"Well, my friends," James said, "I know it's only been a few short weeks since we first met, but I think we really have the beginning of a great friendship here. I mean, we're all perfect for each other. Me and Sirius are the masterminds behind us, Remus here keeps us in order, and Peter…. well, I guess Peter is just there to help us out. I mean, Peter, you're like the other arm we need. If we need information, you can get it. You're like our spy."

"Cool!" Peter said, oblivious to the fact that he really didn't have a "position."

James and Sirius gave each other amused looks.

"Right, well I propose we make a toast!" Remus said.

"A toast?" James asked.

"Yes, to the Marauders."

"To the Marauders!" they all shouted in unison, holding up their cups of pumpkin juice.

It was the beginning of an excellent friendship.

* * *

A/N: So what did you think? How about letting me know by reviewing! Did you guys like Lindsay? That character is dedicated toAshley, who is one of my most faithful readers and my dear friend. :) Hope you like it, Ash.


	9. Revnege Is Sweet, But Not For Everyone

A/N: Okay, first of all, thank you thank you thank you to my three new reviewers! I love you guys. Second of all, this chapter is _way_ longer than I intended it to be, but all the more for you guys to read, right? Well, I hope you like it! There will be a little more of Remus's stalker in this chapter, Ash, and some Lily/James fighting. I'm working on putting the female characters into this chapter to help you get to know them better. :( I've been so wrapped up in the Marauders and their pranking that I almost forgot about them! Just a reminder of who the other girls are, Rory and Ellie Abercrombie, the twins, and Emilie Wood are Lily's roommates. Well, this is my newest chappie. Let me know what you think! REVIEW! Please…..

Disclaimer: Everything except the plot and any characters you don't recognize from the books belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Revenge Is Sweet, But Not For Everyone

Two days later, Snape had figured out that the prank was meant for him, not Lucius. It was just sheer luck that he had been forced out of his normal seat. And whoever made the potion that was put into his drink knew where he normally sat and had some sort of grudge against him. He tried to think of anyone that could possibly have something against him. _James Potter_. He had been pretty ticked off that night with Lily. It could've been his idea. He would just have to do some searching to figure out if it was him or not.

* * *

Lily Evans sat in her dorm, doing her Transfiguration essay that was due on Monday. But she wasn't getting anywhere. The prank that had been done on Lucius was still bothering her, because she knew that it was meant for Snape. She also knew that James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had done it. I mean, they weren't very creative about it. Just a week or so before, James had walked around with the same purple boils and he had lost his voice. And that was when he and Sirius were fighting. Now, Lucius has the same thing, just modified a bit, done to him. And James _had_ been really upset that night with Snape. I mean, who was he to treat her like a child? But that was irrelevant. But she just knew it was them. Now those four were inseparable, walking around calling themselves _The Marauders_. How childish.

They needed to be confronted.

* * *

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all sitting in the Common Room, working on the same essay. Well, by working I mean that they were copying Remus's essay.

"You know, Remus, you're bloody brilliant at Transfiguration," James said.

"I know, it's just a gift," Remus said sardonically.

"And not a bit too humble," Sirius muttered.

The four of them got a good laugh out of that comment, but were violently interrupted by a furious Lily Evans.

"James Potter!" she yelled, brandishing her wand at his throat.

"Lily! How nice to see you on this… fine evening. What can I do for you?" he asked calmly.

"Potter, I need to speak to you in private. Now!" she ordered.

"Anything you wish, my dear. I will see you three later," James said arrogantly, winking to them as Lily's back turned.

"Good luck mate," Sirius said. "She's madder than a rabid Hippogriff."

James followed Lily's retreating figure out of the Portrait Hole and down a long hallway. Finally, she led him into an abandoned classroom.

"What can I do for you, Lily?" James asked.

"Look, Potter, I know what you did and I know how you did it. Just tell me why," Lily commanded.

"Lily, dearest, I have no idea what you speak of. Please inform me and I would be much obliged to explain my motives," James quipped arrogantly.

"Potter!" Lily yelled. "You are such an insufferable git! I mean the prank you pulled on Malfoy. I know it was meant for Snape. I know that Sirius made the potion because it was almost exactly the same as the one he made for _you_ just a few weeks ago. But I don't know why!"

"Well, dear, I'm afraid it is none of your business."

"IF YOU CALL ME DEAR ONE MORE TIME I'LL HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!" she screamed.

"Okay, okay, calm down Lily," James tried.

"POTTER!"

"Okay, how about Evans?"

"Better. Now, tell me why!" she ordered.

"Okay, I'll tell you, just keep your voice down. We don't want to get caught out of bed at this hour. It's way past curfew."

"Okay. Now tell me."

"Fine. It was because of the way he treated you that night," James said quietly.

"That's what I was afraid of," Lily sighed, shaking her head. "What? Did you think I couldn't take care of myself or something? Did you think I couldn't handle him? Is that why you followed me? Or are you just some psycho stalker?"

_Ouch_, James thought to himself.

"Excuse me? Since when did I become a psycho stalker? I was trying to protect you from him. I could tell he was a pervert, but you obviously couldn't."

"Since when do I need your help? I can take care of myself. And I certainly don't need you to protect me. And that prank you pulled was just plain mean. You are nothing but a stuck-up, self-centered, egotistical jerk, James Potter. That's all you'll ever be. I hate you! You and your stupid Marauders."

Lily stormed out of the room and left James standing there, shocked.

_Why should I care what some stupid girl thinks? It's not like she matters! She's just some idiotic girl. And how does she know about the Marauders? I thought only us four knew about that! Maybe she needs to learn a lesson. Hmmm, that's a good idea. We should get her next. After Snape, of course. He's number one on our list of people to prank. I'll tell Sirius later. She'll regret calling me a stuck-up, uh, she'll regret crossing James Potter.

* * *

_

Snape was walking towards the staircase that would take him back down to the Slytherin Common Room, when he heard exactly what he needed to hear.

"POTTER!" he heard Lily Evans scream.

Then he heard some muffled argument. He had obviously told her to keep her voice down.

He hid in the shadows for a few minutes, waiting to hear the rest of the argument. Sometimes he needed to be reminded that he wasn't the worst off.

Then, he heard it.

"… YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A STUCK-UP, SELF-CENTERED, EGOTISTICAL JERK! THAT"S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE AND I HATE YOU! YOU AND YOUR STUPID MARAUDERS!" Lily screamed.

He heard the door fly open and Lily ran down the hall towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

Snape smiled to himself in the darkness. He recalled something that he had heard Lucius say before he was pranked.

"_Who in Merlin's name are the Marauders?"_

At the time, the name had meant nothing. Now, he had all the proof he needed.

He darted to the Slytherin Common Room to enlist the help he needed to get his dear friend James Potter back.

As he entered the Common Room, he found exactly the person he was looking for.

"Lucius!" Snape called.

Lucius looked up from Narcissa, with whom he was quite… involved.

"What do you want, Snape?" he asked irritably.

"I know who did that to you," Snape said quietly.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, and I know why."

"Do tell."

"It was James Potter. He was trying to get me, not you. I don't know if you noticed, but that night you were sitting in my seat. It was meant for me. And you got that note, saying it was from the Marauders?"

"Yes."

"Well, James and his friends call themselves the Marauders."

"Are you sure of this?" Lucius asked greedily.

"Positive."

"Excellent. What do you say we teach our friend James a lesson?"

"My plans exactly," Snape said, wearing an evil grin.

* * *

James was crouching in the darkest corner he could find. He was hiding under his invisibility cloak, waiting for Lily to come. She was next. Sirius had helped him to plan their newest attack. It was brilliant.

He must've waited half an hour before she finally came towards him. He could recognize her voice from a mile away. He heard some other female voices too, but that was okay. As long as Lily got pranked.

"So, you really think that Sirius Black is cute?" Lily asked Rory.

"Well, he is pretty handsome. I mean, the long black hair and those blue eyes, it's almost too much!" Rory declared.

"Well, I personally think that James Potter is much cuter than Sirius Black," Emilie said.

"You're joking," Lily asked in disbelief. "That arrogant jerk? He makes the hairs on my neck stand up. I hate him."

"Aww, Lily, he's not that bad," Ellie said. "Besides, he seems to like you well enough."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Lily asked indignantly.

"Oh, nothing…"

"Ellie!" Lily warned.

"Okay, whatever Lil, I just think he might have a little crush on you or something. It's not a big deal. I mean, he'll get over it. Just try to be nice to him. He really is a nice kid, even if he is quite arrogant."

James's cheeks reddened at the course of the conversation. _I do NOT have a crush on Lily! She's an ugly, stupid girl!_

He chose that moment to attack. He opened the box he had been holding and waited for their reaction.

* * *

Lily and her friends were walking down the corridor when out of absolutely nowhere they were attacked by bewitched toy spiders. All four girls began shrieking and sent stunning spells flying in every direction. More than a few times, James found himself having to block the spells since they were coming in his direction. Luckily, the girls were so wrapped up in the spiders that they couldn't hear him muttering the spell.

After quite a while, all the spiders were back to normal.

"Where the heck did that come from?" Emilie yelled.

"Well, I don't know how he managed it, but I just know it was Potter," Lily growled.

"Oh, please, Lily, for all you know it could've been Peeves," Ellie said.

"You're just defending that stupid git Potter to get me angry!" Lily yelled, her cheeks flushing with anger.

"That's ridiculous!" Ellie yelled back.

"Ellie! Lily!" Rory screamed.

Both girls stopped yelling to look at the normally soft-spoken Rory.

"Just shut up. I hate arguing, especially if it's with my best friends. None of us know who did that, and probably never will. Just leave it alone."

The girls walked down the corridor towards the library. Lily and Ellie were still fighting, and Emilie and Rory were still pacifying.

* * *

James slipped out of his invisibility cloak and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction the girls had gone. There were still tears streaming down his face as he laughed at that beautiful memory.

"Ah, James Potter," James heard a greasy voice from behind him say, "just the fellow we were looking for."

James turned around to see Lucius Malfoy, Snape, and a few older boys whose last names he only knew, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"What do you want, Snape?" James hissed.

"Whatever do you think I want, James? I know it was you who slipped that clever little potion into _my_ drink. It was just fate that Lucius was so unfortunate as to sit in my seat that night. Well, you see, among _true_ Purebloods, that was considered quite rude. We're here to teach you a lesson."

"I don't think so!" James yelled, grasping his wand so hard his hand shook. In all reality, he was terrified out of his mind, but he couldn't let them know that.

"Actually, I think so, Potter. I did _not_ enjoy those few days. You will not get away with doing something so disrespectful to someone like me," Lucius said haughtily.

"I- I won't l-l-let you t-t-touch me," James said, stuttering, as was his habit when he was afraid.

"W-w-what was t-t-that, P-p-p-potter? Are you afraid?" Lucius taunted. "Maybe this will help your stuttering problem. _Silencio!_" Lucius yelled.

James opened his mouth, but found that no words came out. Lucius had used the same curse that James had used on him.

"Now, do you know what it's like to be completely humiliated in front of the whole school?" Lucius asked.

James didn't reply.

"Answer me!" Lucius said. "Shake your head yes or no!"

Again, James didn't move.

"Imbecile! _Crucio!"_

James felt the most excruciating pain he had ever experience in his whole life. It felt as though every bone in his body were smashed into tiny bits, and his skin was being seared with white-hot blades that were as sharp as possible. He writhed and twisted as the Cruciatus Curse continued work its magic on him. Finally, after what seemed like endless ages, the pain stopped.

"Now, answer me!" Lucius said sharply.

James shook his head no violently, then collapsed on the floor. He felt blood dripping onto his hand, and a gash on his forehead that was bleeding violently. He was positive that his left leg was broken, and his left shoulder felt as though it were ripped out of its socket.

"Good boy," Lucius taunted. "Didn't like that, did you?"

James, terrified of further torture, shook his head no.

"Now, we will not perform a memory charm on you, because we want you to remember this. We want you to remember that you will never, ever cross me or any of my friends and companions _ever_ again. Will you remember this?"

James shook his head yes.

"Good. Now, if you breathe a word of this to any soul, we will find out, and you will receive more torture. Perhaps we will even kill you. Do you understand me?"

James shook his head yes.

"Good. Nott! Avery! Put him into that broom closet. Make sure no one finds him for a while. It'll give him some time to think over what he's done," Lucius said.

Nott and Avery placed him in the back of the broom closet. As James slowly drifted off into unconsciousness amongst the brooms and buckets, he heardthem shut the door, leaving him to be found.

* * *

Lily was trudging down the corridor. Professor Flitwick had sent her into a specific broom closet. He needed his old broom to demonstrate a certain charm, so _she_ was elected as the one to get it.

When she finally reached the closet that Flitwick had mentioned, she opened the door slowly. She looked for the green and blue broom that Flitwick had told her to get. After about two minutes of searching, she saw it in the back corner of the closet, hidden behind quite a few brooms.

She grumbled the whole time as she walked towards the broom.

Suddenly, she felt he foot step on something squishy right before it gave way. She fell flat on her face. She turned her head to the left to see what it was that made her trip. Who should be before her but James Potter himself? Except, there was something wrong with him. He had passed out. And there was blood all over his face and his leg was in a position that could not be normal. For a few moments, Lily debated what she should do.

_I wonder who did this to him. I mean, I know he probably has enemies, but this is horrible. Then again, I'm sure he deserved it. But I really should get him to Madame Pomfrey. But someone could find him if I move him and leave the door open enough. But I suppose I should help him._

"_Locomotor Corpis!_" Lily yelled. James's body rose into the air and hovered wherever Lily made it with her wand.

She went off in the direction of the hospital wing.

* * *

Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all sitting in their room. It was almost midnight and James still wasn't back from wherever it was he had gone.

"Where the bloody hell is he?" Sirius yelled. "I mean, I know he was pranking Lily and the girls but that was hours ago. He skipped bloody Potions, right before lunch!"

"Wait, James pranked the girls?" Remus asked.

"Uh, yeah, didn't he tell you guys?" Sirius asked.

"No, he didn't," Remus hissed. "Well, wherever he went, I'm sure he's fine."

"You know, we ought to check the hospital wing. Maybe he got sick or something like you did," Sirius suggested, looking pointedly at Remus. He still hadn't forgotten the events of almost a month ago.

That reminded Remus that his next Transformation was coming up.

"Let's check in the morning. It's way too late now," Remus said.

"Not if we use the Invisibility Cloak it isn't," Sirius said, grinning.

"Well, that'd be a great idea if you knew where it was," Remus said sarcastically. "Besides, it belongs to James. You can't just take his property."

"Actually, I am allowed to use it. And it would just be to see if he's in the Hospital Wing, not for all of us to go pay him a visit. Poppy isn't that stupid."

"Poppy?" Remus asked.

"Oh, Madame Pomfrey. I heard Blake call her that. It's easier to say than _Madame Pomfrey_. Besides, Poppy makes her sound, nicer or something. Whatever."

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Sirius, _you_ can go and check to see if James is in the hospital wing. Peter and I will wait here."

"Sounds like a plan. See you two tools later."

Sirius went over to James's bunk and reached inside the pillow case. He pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and slipped it on.

A few seconds later the door opened, and then closed. Sirius slipped down the hallway, unseen by anyone.

* * *

James awoke suddenly from a nightmare. Yet, it wasn't completely a nightmare. He was being tortured by Lucius and Snape again. They were going to kill him. Then, just when he thought he was going to die, he was rescued by an angel. Okay, it was kinda lame, but that was his dream.

He opened his eyes, and saw that the whole world was blurry. He felt around for his glasses, but discovered that his arm was in serious pain. He yelped.

A woman in white said something that James couldn't understand, and handed him his glasses. When he slipped them on, he saw that it was Madame Pomfrey.

"Come now, dearie, you mustn't move! You've been hurt badly! Drink this, it'll give you a peaceful, dreamless sleep," she ordered.

James practically inhaled the greenish liquid in the cup and drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sirius was sneaking through the dark halls of Hogwarts, in search of his friend, who had disappeared without a trace.

After what seemed like hours to Sirius, he reached the Hospital Wing.

It was pretty much dark, so he entered quietly. He wheeled his head around, looking for an occupied bed, but wasn't finding one. At last, in the very bed where Remus had lain, he found James.

He was asleep, probably with some sort of potion. His glasses were cracked and there were cuts and bruises all over his face, neck, and arms. His right arm had a strange look to it, as if it weren't attached to his body. There was a long gash on it, running down almost its whole length. He was about to wake James when he heard a few voices behind him.

"… who did this!" Headmaster Blake exclaimed.

Sirius backed into an obsolete corner where he wouldn't be found but could still hear the conversation.

"Headmaster, it would be very unwise to wake him. He's obviously been through quite an ordeal. He needs some rest. Poppy, when he wakes, you'll inform us, won't you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course, Professor. His arm has been healed. It was dislocated and quite badly broken, but I healed it. It's a shame that people could be so sick to do so much damage to such an innocent young boy," Madame Pomfrey said.

"Well, hopefully James will tell us," Blake said. "I would hate to have the culprits of such a horrible crime walk around unpunished."

"Well, it is late. I need my rest," Dumbledore said. "We all need our rest." Dumbledore looked right into Sirius's eyes when he said this.

"Yes, you are right, my friend. Good night, Poppy, Albus."

Sirius waited until he had a clear path and then ran towards the Gryffindor Tower.

When he arrived back in his room, he was accosted with questions.

"Well, did you find him?" Peter asked eagerly.

"Of course I found him," Sirius said, slipping the Cloak back into James's pillow.

"And?" Remus asked.

"He's been beat up pretty badly. All kinds of gashes. Dislocated shoulder and all that jazz. Poppy fixed him up, but he's out cold. I think Dumbledore can see through Invisibility Cloaks."

"Well, that's interesting, really, but if you don't mind, I'm extremely tired," Remus said. He was already in his pajamas. "Good night."

"Night, Remus."

* * *

Lily lay in her bed. She was crying. She didn't know why, but she was.

"Lily!" Rory exclaimed. "Would you please stop crying and just tell us what's wrong?"

"I mean, you've been crying for an hour!" Emilie exclaimed.

"Please, honey, just say what's bothering you," Ellie said.

"He… I found him… blood everywhere…. his blood…. Pomfrey…. hurt…. almost died! Lily said between sobs.

"Calm down and say it again, more slowly," Rory said.

Lily told them exactly what had happened.

"That's horrible!" Ellie cried.

"Who would do such a thing?" Emilie asked.

"I have no idea," Lily moaned, "All I know is that he almost died and I saved his life!"

"Why is that a bad thing?" Rory asked.

"I don't know!" Lily cried exasperatedly.

"Well, don't let it haunt you," Ellie said. "You did the right thing here. I'm sure he would've done the same."

"Get some rest," Emilie said. "It'll help."

"I can't sleep!" Lily cried.

"Well, then lay in bed. He'll be fine. Madame Pomfrey is a good healer, and she'll take good care of him," Ellie said.

"Fine," Lily grumbled, knowing they were right. There _was_ nothing she could do about it, so she may as well rest up.

She lay in her bed for quite a while, probably two or three hours. Then, just as she thought she would never get to sleep, her eyes shut and she drifted off into dreamland.

* * *

Since Remus, Peter, and Sirius had not been allowed to visit James that morning, they had gone about their day as normal.

They were now sitting in their room discussing what had happened to James. From what Lily and the girls had told them, he had been attacked or something. Sirius thought he had a pretty good idea who had done it, but he kept it to himself. He was sure it was Snape and his group, getting revenge for their prank. He was waiting for the right time to ask James.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Remus got up to open the door.

Ellie was standing there.

"Oh, hello," Remus said. He thought maybe it might be James.

"Nice to see you too," Ellie said sarcastically.

Remus rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Ellie?"

"You, actually. There's a girl in the Common Room looking for you. She's a Hufflepuff first year, says she knows you. Short, blonde hair, kinda talkative? I've never seen her before, and I have no idea how she got into our Common Room. Anyway, she asked for you, so I said I'd come and get you. Right, well, that's all. Bye."

Ellie turned and walked down the stairs.

Remus turned to his friends, completely puzzled.

"Maybe it's your little friend, mate," Sirius said, smirking.

"My little friend?" Remus asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, that one who was like stalking you?"

"_Oh_! _That_ friend. Oh God I hope it's not here. She's a loony!"

"Well, let's go find out. Got nothing better to do anyways."

The two boys (Peter wasn't feeling too good) went downstairs.

Remus's heart sunk as he saw none other than Lindsay sitting in a chair by the fire.

"Oh Remus!" she squealed upon seeing him. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Uh, right. What do you want, Lindsay?" Remus asked, his cheeks flushing at the snickers going around the Common Room.

"To say how sorry I am about your friend, James. When my friend Melina told me about how he was attacked I thought, I should go talk to Remus. How are you holding up?" She put an arm around his shoulder.

"Um, look, Lindsay, I'm fine. Really I am. You need to get your arm off of me," Remus hissed.

"Oh, okay Remmie-kins. I understand that you're not holding up too well. I'll see you around. Bye!" she said happily, blowing him a kiss.

"What the hell is that girl's problem?" Remus asked angrily.

"Problem? She's a psycho!" Sirius said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Remus muttered.

"Who's a psycho?" a voice asked from behind.

Remus and Sirius both turned around to see who was butting into their business.

"James!" Sirius yelled.

"Sirius! It's good to be back in here, let me tell you. That hospital wing is so boring!"

"We were so worried about you!" Remus said. "Lily told us what happened."

"Lily?" James asked, confused.

"Yeah. Lily Evans," Sirius said. "Tall redhead, our year, kinda pretty, really smart, you know her mate."

"Shut up. Of course I know her. But what does she have to do with anything?"

"She _found_ you!" Remus cried.

"Oh," was all James could say. _Lily found me? And she actually helped me? I thought she hated me! Maybe there was nothing she could do. Or maybe she doesn't really hate me. It doesn't matter, though, because she'll never act like it._

"_Oh_? That's all?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "James, she found you almost dead in the back of a broom closet and saved your life! _Oh_, is not a proper response. Hello! You owe this girl big time!"

"Alright, alright! I get it, okay? No need to get mental on me, okay?"

"Look, I'm going to bed," Remus said. "I'm tired and I don't want to hear you two fight. You sit here and work it out. You're not coming back into the dorm until you do. Goodnight."

Remus walked up the stairs and left them sitting by themselves in a mostly deserted Common Room. Only a sixth year girl was sitting at a far table studying.

"Look, mate, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so mad at you," Sirius said.

"It's okay, Sirius," James replied. "Now let's go get some sleep."

"Hold on a second," Sirius said.

"What's up?"

"I, uh, have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"What the hell happened to you?"

James didn't reply. _Should I tell him? Lucius threatened to kill me if I told anyone. But Sirius is my best mate! He of all people should know. But if they almost killed me_ _before, I can only imagine what they'll do to me if they find out I told anyone. But I really should tell him._

"Okay, I'll tell you only if you swear to keep your mouth shut about it," James ordered.

"I swear," Sirius said solemnly.

"Okay." James lowered his voice to a whisper. "It was Malfoy and Snape and their little gang of losers."

"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed.

The girl at the table looked up suddenly. She was quite angry.

"Sorry, so sorry. Personal problems. He's a bit mental," James said as a means of explanation. The girl rolled her eyes and went up to her room.

"Would you mind not waking everyone in the castle?" James hissed.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"So, Snape did this to you?"

"Uh, mostly Lucius actually. He must've figured out it was us."

"What was us?"

"The prank. The one that was supposed to be fore Snape."

"Oh! That one. But what did he do to you?"

James looked into the fire, the memory of the day before coming back to him.

"They cornered me and threatened me. Then Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse on me. Beat me up pretty good, actually. Then they left me in the closet where Lily found me."

"Wow. So what do you say we do next?"

"Do? We're not going to _do_ anything. They said they would kill me if I told anyone. I'm risking it just telling you. What the hell do you think they'd do if we retaliated? They'd throttle me _and_ you."

"But if we do it-"

"Sirius, I'm not going to do anything, and you sure as hell aren't either. Okay?"

"Whatever. I still say we get those bloody-"

"No. No revenge. They'll get theirs eventually. We just have to wait. _Now_ can we go get some sleep? I'm exhausted. Those beds in the hospital wing are _very_ uncomfortable."

"Sure."

Then the two boys walked up the stairs into their rooms and fell into peaceful sleep.

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A/N: Well, that was it! Tell me what you think... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! 


	10. The Secret's Out

A/N: Hello everybody! I'm really sorry that I took so long to update. I guess I just got caught up with school and basketball... anyway, DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO HAVE ALMOST 900 READS AND ONLY 5 MEASLEY REVIEWS? Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. But it is extremely discouraging to see that I haven't had a new review in quite some time. Who knows, if I don't get any more, I might just get so depressed that I stop updating completely... PLEASE REVIEW! Okay. Enjoy the new chapter.

Disclaimer: Everything except the plot and any characters you don't recognize from the HP books belong to Miss Rowling sigh.

* * *

The Secret Is Out

Two months later found our dear friends virtually the same as before. Lily and James had engaged each other in a few arguments, but that was to be expected. Remus had undergone two more painful transformations. It was getting increasingly difficult to hide his secret from his friends. They were beginning to get suspicious. Especially Sirius. But Sirius's suspicions were lost in the frenzy of Christmas Holiday. The whole castle seemed to buzz with anticipation. There were twelve gigantic Christmas trees in the Great Hall, each painstakingly decorated with either candles or Christmas balls. There were wreaths and holly and mistletoe placed throughout the corridors. Even Peeves seemed to lighten up on his usual pranking in honor of the holidays. Well, a little. He liked to hide inside of the suits of armor, which had been bewitched to sing Christmas carols, and change the words. The teachers seemed to give less homework and made their lessons a little easier. Even Professor McGonagall!

"Well, James, I guess I'll see you in three weeks," Remus said.

James and Peter were both leaving Hogwarts for the holidays. Sirius and Remus were staying.

"I'll miss you, mate," James said, pulling Remus into a "manly" hug, as he called it.

"You'd better not open your presents until Christmas morning!" Remus warned James and Peter.

"Don't worry!" Peter said.

"Well, you two had better get going," Sirius said.

"Have a good holiday," Peter called as he walked down the corridor.

James shook Remus's hand and gave Sirius a salute before he set off after Peter.

After a few moments of silence, Sirius said, "Well, I guess it's just you and me now, ole' boy!"

"I can hardly contain myself," Remus said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on now! Have a good spirit! Christmas is coming! You get to spend some quality time with Sirius Black! How bad could it be?" Sirius said jokingly.

"Come on, let's go get some food from the kitchens," Remus said.

Half an hour later, they were sneaking up to their dorm with a rather large amount of food stuffed under their robes in awkward positions. Seeing as James had inconsiderately taken his Invisibility Cloak, they had no choice. They were at the stairs when they were stopped by a female voice from behind them.

"Where'd you guys get all that food?"

Sirius and Remus turned around slowly, hoping that it wasn't a prefect.

It wasn't a prefect. It was one of the twins, either Ellie or Rory.

"Umm, what food?" Remus asked stupidly.

"The food you have stuffed inside your robes!" the girl said, becoming irritated.

"We, uh, found it!" Sirius said.

"Yeah, and my father is a hippogriff," she retorted.

"Right, well, uhhh…." Sirius began, wishing he knew which twin she was.

"My name's Rory," she said.

"Rory. Right. Well, we did find it. We found it in the kitchens," Sirius said.

Rory raised her right eyebrow in suspicion.

"I swear we did!" Remus said anxiously.

"Well, if you don't give me something, I'll turn you two in," Rory said, smirking.

"To whom?" Remus asked indignantly.

"To McGonagall. Or Dumbledore. Or Blake. Anyone, really. I think Pringle would _love_ to hear about this one…"

Sirius gulped. Any of the teachers would simply deduct points and maybe give them a detention. But Pringle was different. He would gladly have given them something absolutely illegal and horrible to do. Or maybe he would hang them upside down from the chains that everyone knew was in his office.

"Alright, Rory, you can have something. You don't have to be such a prat!" Sirius said angrily.

Rory narrowed her eyes and took the cupcake that Sirius was holding. She gave them one last menacing look before she turned and walked out of the portrait hole.

"What a strange girl!" Remus remarked.

"_Strange_? That girl was mental! I swear she belongs in St. Mungo's!" Sirius cried indignantly. Obviously, he did not like Rory very much.

"Well, she only took a cupcake. We've got plenty more where that came from," Remus said logically.

Sirius and Remus crept up to their room and began to feast on all of the treats that the house elves gave them.

* * *

"GET UP YOU SLEEPY-HEAD!" a voice yelled in Remus's ear. He had been having a wonderful dream about being stranded on a desert island with a brown-haired girl before he was so rudely awoken by his friend Sirius. 

"I'm up!" Remus said groggily.

"It's about time!" Sirius grunted. "Open your gifts."

Remus stared at the pile of gifts at the foot of his bed. It was pretty large.

"Come on!" Sirius moaned. "Just open your bloody gifts! Thanks for the chocolate frogs and the peppermint pasties, by the way."

Remus opened his first gift. It was a book called _The Three Musketeers_. It was Peter's gift. Remus made a mental note to start reading it as soon as possible. His second gift was a box of Drooble's Bubble Gum, a few boxes of chocolate frogs, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from James. Sirius's present was a leather-bound journal and a Remembrall.

After he had finished opening the rest of his presents, he showered, dressed, and accompanied Sirius to the Great Hall.

As the food materialized onto their plates, Remus noticed that Ellie and Rory were sitting at the end of the table, completely alone.

Remus nudged Sirius.

"What?" he asked with a mouth full of sausages.

"Let's go sit with them," Remus whispered.

"Why?" Sirius asked, swallowing his food.

"Because they're all alone. Let's just go talk to them; you know, get to know them and such," Remus persisted.

"Fine," Sirius said.

They got up and walked down to the end of the table.

"Can we sit with you?" Remus asked politely.

"Sure," one of them said, grinning. Remus assumed that she was Ellie because the other one had a suspicious look on her face, much like the one that Rory had given him a few days ago.

"You're Remus Lupin, right?" the one who they thought was Ellie asked.

"Yeah, I'm Remus. This is Sirius Black," Remus introduced.

"I'm Ellie Abercrombie, and this is my sister Rory," Ellie said.

"Do you two play Quidditch," Sirius asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Nah. We're half-bloods and our father got hurt pretty badly when he played, so he couldn't stand to see us on brooms. We were never allowed to play Quidditch," Ellie said.

"That stinks. I'm a beater. I plan to be on the House team next year," Sirius said.

Rory's eyebrow shot up into her forehead once again.

"You're so sure?" she asked.

"Well, I've been flying for as long as I could walk," Sirius said.

"You're parents let you fly when you were little?" Ellie asked. "The first time I ever flew was when Madam Hooch taught us at the beginning of the year."

Sirius flushed slightly. "Believe me, there was almost nothing my parents wouldn't let me do," he said darkly.

The twins weren't quite sure how to respond, so they said nothing.

The rest of the meal passed quickly, and before he knew it, Remus found himself back in the Common Room.

"So, what'd ya suppose we do?" Sirius asked, obviously bored.

"I dunno. I mean, we've got a load of homework to get done before break's over…" Remus started.

"Homework?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Why on earth would I do that?"

"I dunno. I just thought it'd be a good idea to get a head start," Remus said, blushing slightly.

Sirius sat silently on the couch for a few moments.

"Well, I guess there's nothing better to do, so we may as well," Sirius replied.

It was Remus's turn to be shocked.

"Alright," he said, following Sirius back into their dorm.

Halfway through an essay for Transfiguration, Remus was interrupted by Sirius.

"Remus?" he asked.

"Hmmm?" Remus answered, still engrossed in his essay.

"I need to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly," Sirius said.

Remus looked up. Sirius was wearing a stoic expression.

"What… what'd you want to know?" Remus asked nervously, playing with a loose string on his quilt.

"Why do you keep getting sick all of the time?" Sirius asked.

Remus wasn't quite sure how to answer. He couldn't, after all, just say that he was a werewolf. But then again, he hated lying to his best friends.

"Well…" Remus said, letting his voice trail off.

"You're a werewolf, aren't you?"

Remus looked up quickly from the string.

"What?"

"I asked if you're a werewolf," Sirius repeated.

"Why would I be a werewolf?" Remus asked.

"Oh come off it!" Sirius said angrily. "You're sick for two days, once a month. You always come back looking like you just barely survived Malaria or something, and you always seem to have a freshly healed set of cuts. Now answer me."

Remus took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst. There was no point in lying now; Sirius knew.

"Yes, I am."

Remus waited for Sirius to get upset, or get scared, or at least angry. So you can understand why Remus was puzzled when Sirius's face broke into a wide grin.

"I knew it!" he said triumphantly.

"Huh?" Remus asked stupidly.

"Well, I'm not stupid you know. So I started to look through some of our books, and I found the section on Werewolves in our DADA book; that's how I knew."

Remus's voice seemed to have left him for the time being.

"So what's it like?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's it like, being a werewolf?"

Sirius's face looked half-hungry, half-inquisitive. Somehow, Remus knew that this wasn't going to make a difference with Sirius. For some reason, Sirius thought it was cool.

"Well, it's painful, having to transform every month. And it's a pain in the arse, having to make up sick stories with you three," Remus answered honestly.

"Yeah... but I'll bet it's cool!"

"Not really!" Remus answered hotly.

"What'd ya mean?"

"Didn't I just say it was a pain in the arse?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered tentatively.

"Well then that implies that it isn't much fun," Remus retorted.

Sirius looked slightly hurt.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just that nothing interesting's ever happened to me, unless you count when I turned my brother into a doll by mistake," Sirius added with a laugh.

As Sirius launched into his story, Remus felt relieved. _Finally, someone knows, _he thought.

"Sirius, I need you to promise me that you won't tell a soul about my condition," Remus said.

"Sure thing. We've all got our secrets. I'll even cover for you if you want," Sirius offered.

"That'd be great," Remus said truthfully.

"So, what do you say to a round of Exploding Snap?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Oh, you're on, Black. Prepare for humiliation!"

* * *

A/N: Well, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me what you thought! All you have to do is press that little blue button in the corner of the screen and type a few words of encouragement... I'm not asking for much!


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